In 2021, Angela Summers was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and told by doctors that she had just six to 18 months to live. Three-and-a half years later, on Sunday 18 May, she overcame the odds to become the inspirational final finisher of the 2025 Great Manchester Run.
Summers, from Fallowfield in Manchester, was surrounded and celebrated by friends, family members and supporters as she walked her way across the finish line of the 10K event. For Summers, this was more than a race – it was also a chance for her to defy her prognosis, showcase her resilience and give all-important hope to others facing serious illness.
‘It’s hard to put into words,’ says Summers, looking back on her achievement. ‘Three-and-a-half years ago, I was being told that I might never walk again. Every finish line is borrowed time. It keeps me alive, physically and mentally.
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‘Even if you’re told the worst, never say never,’ she adds. ‘You don’t have to run. You can walk. You can move. And the support you get from something like this – it’s powerful. It can carry you through.’
Defying her diagnosis
Summers was one of more than 35,000 participants at this year’s Great Manchester Run – but it wasn’t the first time that she took part in this much-loved annual event. Now aged 61, she first completed the race in 2005 and, from there, made it a regular fixture in her calendar. However, shortly after completing the first edition post-Covid in September 2021, Summers was diagnosed with incurable lung and spinal cancer.
First assuming that the pain in her back was due to a trapped nerve, Summers was devastated to learn that it was, in fact, caused by a cancerous tumour in her spine. At the same time, doctors told her that she also had an inoperable primary tumour in one of her lungs – and that, in the few months she had remaining, she may never walk again.
As such, Summers began intensive chemotherapy that was ‘freezing’ and ‘painful’ – but at no point was she willing to give up. If anything, she was determined to outlast her life expectancy and prove the medical professionals wrong. With the help of Nordic hiking poles, she chose to be active and started to regain ‘a sense of purpose’ by walking short distances each day. ‘Walking gave me something to work toward and it helped to relieve the pain.’
Aware that Summers would be too ill to take on the 2022 Great Manchester Run, her daughter, Josie, decided to rally a team of friends and family members who could complete the race in her honour. Amazingly, at the last minute, Summers joined the group to conquer the entire 10K distance on her own two feet, in spite of her cancer diagnosis. She did the same in 2024, before completing the race for the third consecutive year this month. ‘[Josie] is not even a runner, but she made all this happen,’ reflects Summers.
In taking part in the event, her running team, which is now more than 30 strong, were also raising funds for cancer care charity Maggie’s, which played a pivotal part in not only supporting Summers with her recovery, confidence and wellbeing, but also helping her loved ones to navigate the difficult circumstances.
‘Maggie’s was a lifeline,’ said Summers. ‘They helped me to believe that I could do something – that I still had a life worth living, even with cancer.’
Looking ahead to future years
To date, Summers has undergone 36 rounds of chemotherapy and she still attends scans every three months. However, since her tumours are currently stable, she hasn’t had to undergo chemotherapy for the past 12 months.
Although running is now too painful to manage, she still aims to walk 10,000 steps each day, too. ‘I take painkillers, I lean on my poles and I get it done,’ she says.
What’s more, Summers and her team are already planning for next year’s Great Manchester Run and will continue to raise money for Maggie’s along the way.
‘Every time I go across that line, I just think, “That’s another year that I’ve been here”,’ muses Summers. ‘When I was first diagnosed, I never thought that I’d do the 10K again – and now I’ve done it three years in a row since then.
‘I may come in last every time,’ adds Summers, laughing, while explaining how she is now recognised by the race’s bike escort at the back of the pack. ‘But I’ll keep coming.’
The Great Manchester Run will return next year on Sunday 31 May 2026. You can secure your place and find out more about the event here.
